Third year on the run - what are the prices like?

[BIG brez]

Firstly hello to one and all,

We first stayed at the Colina Da Lapa - WOW it was great exchange rate was 1.5 to the £ bargain!!!

Last year we stayed in the Colina Village not as good but OK exchange rate was about 1.1 to the £ also prices seemed to have increased aswell.

Staying in Colina Da Lapa again this year - hope it is still as good!!!! end of June

Many people we spoke to said that the Restaurant owners were killing the town by there expensive prices and that they would be going to a different resort or even country for 2010. Have they learnt from this by lowering their prices due to the poor exchange rates or are they still very expensive (in general). I know that a few places do all you can eat for example the Chinese upstairs(the name of which escapes me) but we can't go there every night! I am not tight with my money I would just like to know if the resort is good value like the first time we came or do I need to sell a limb on Ebay to pay for it!!!

Many people were buying bbq's saying it was too expensive to eat out, now that can't be right , can it?

Cheers
BIG brez

[EMM]

Obviously comparedto the Halcyon days of £1= e1.5 costs for UK vistors are higher.
It would be stupid indeed to expect local business to reduce prices to cater for we poor UK vistors when their costs have increased.

You can still get a beer /coffee for E1 ( the cafe opposite hemmingways ) and places like Phoenix nights, elliots and even ele and ele have meal specials.

It is all about balance , eating in with afew good nights out added. ( portugal is still one of the better value Eurozone holiday destinations )

[BIG brez]

Hi only me again,

I suppose a fairer way of putting it is - how are prices compared to last year as the Euro was about the same exchange rate as it is now?

Thanks for the advice on reasonably priced places to eat, does anyone have any other good suggestions I have two children aged 2 and 6, so I will be going home at around 7 o'clock just as everyone else is going out, the joys of having kids eh

[snaj1]

Hi
We're thinking of returning as well. We've been the last 3 years and noticed the prices have increased.
I guess it's to be expected with the currency fluctuations etc, but as the food in CVO is average, we tended to eat
in Ferragudo, Sesmarias,Silves or Lagoa.
CVO is a beautiful area of the Algarve which hasn't yet turned into Magaluf.

[EMM]

We have to agree, better value and sometimes better quality food it to be found outside of the main tourist area of CVO.

eg, O Cais in Silves, lunchtime excellent pir piri special E5.50 ( E6.50 at night ) with an acceptable childrens menu.
WE have paid less than 1 Euro for coffee in the small cafes who also do very good snacks.

[maccasa]

There are still reasonable places to eat in CVO area, but not really in the town - a steak in the village will cost €10-12. If you go outside to Lagoa, Silves etc its 20-25% lower. Some places close by are good value - O Nuno's in Poco Partido do a daily special (lunch or night) of pork steaks, fish rice, chicken legs, calamari for 4.50-5.50. Probably the best one is Branco's on the rd to sesmarias - lunch daily dish - grilled fish, meat stews, chicken piri piri etc + sweet + coffee + any drink (beer, jug of wine etc) for €7/person. Can also recommend O Casarao in lagoa (just opposite where the rd to CVO joins N125) excellent Piri piri for €6.

However when it comes to BBQ the restaurant prices just done compete - you can get very good aberdeen angus beef (irish ) rib eye steak etc for €7 - € 9 /kg and pork steaks, shoulder chops etc for €2 - €2.50 /kg, Whole chickens €.2.50 at Pingo or pao azucar (Intermarche is more expensive) and with 5 l of wine at €6-8, its very easy to live cheaply.

[snaj1]

Macassa,
An excellent posting. We made use of the bbq last year as well as going out to restaurants.
Unfortunately our favourite place which used to be the Rodizio /Cafe Originals on vale del lapa
closed down. More to do with its location I think as the food was excellent and reasonably priced.
Hope something re-opens there as we love that part of Carvoeiro

[td]

I never cease to be amazed at the suggestions that the local businesses are 'raking' it in by virtue of the prices they have to charge. The further suggestion that they should reduce their prices to appease the poor Brits who have come on holiday with the £ that is no longer the robust currency it once was. If all they are going to do is come here and complain about the prices - don't bother coming

I realise the point has been made regarding the cost of being in business in Carvoeiro and that the exchange rate has nothing to do with the pricing mechanism - but what is it that automatically creates a belief that any change to the British affordability model must be the fault of somebody else and they must change to accommodate it? Get real.

I know a few Cvo restaurant owners who are struggling to keep their heads above water due to reduced numbers and additional costs - they are not profiteering at anybody's expense. They will work flat out for the May to October season in the hope it will sustain them for the other 6 months - so the last thing they need is to 'told' their prices are off the scale - when their margins are falling. Has anybody gone to Blackpool, Brighton or Barnstaple of late and suggested to them that their prices are too high - don't think so

Carvoeiro and the local area can provide good value for money - if you go and look for it. The places suggested are all excellent in their own way - try them - but don't quibble about the price by comparing it with your local pub/shop/restaurant etc - ok

[maccasa]

Funny you should mention brighton, barnstaple, blackpool - that's why we bought a place in CVO! however I do think that the actual "village" does tend to be higher than surrounding area - it's probably to do with property price, but there is definitely a seasonal variation as well.

Whatever the exchange rate - I know where I would rather be!

[Gary/Gaynor]

I can imagine coming from the UK that things looks really expensive in the Euro zone, unfortunately, even being paid in Euros like myself and living in Holland as we do,it's expensive with restaurant eating now at a minimum. An average lunch for Gary and I at our local bar in Voorburg comes to approx 25 Euros or 25 pounds the equivalent at the moment and that is for either two burgers with a small portion of salad (no fries) or two warm sandwiches with a bit of salad on the side, one cup of tea or coffee for Gary and a glass of wine for me. I'm afraid that is the way it is everywhere in the Euro Zone and not just CVO. We love going back to the UK as our money goes so much further and tend to save clothes shopping for my long for M & S or Debs.
Gaynor

[kappa]

In fact, most of the restaurants have kept their prices or have even put them down, even though their margins are falling. The only restaurant where I realized they have put their prices up is a Gale - and they are packed every night. The customers don´t seem to bother a lot.

[BIG brez]

Touched a nerve there did I Td?

watch out you don't fall off your soap box there!

Maybe if they reduced their prices they would be full every night thus making more profit overall, could be cutting their own throats in the long run!!

Cost is a significant factor for alot of people these days and by the time you have paid out in the region of £2000 for your holiday and £2000+ spends for 2 weeks you would like to think you have had good value for money - No?

Just a thought
BIG brez

[Bristle Si]

This old chestnut rears its head once again!

We've been visiting for 9 years now and in general i'd say the exchange rate issue is to 'blame' in CVO.
The local supermarkets are expensive in my view, so eating in on more occasions is not a chosen option for us.

Compared to a place we found in Corfu last year, where a large mythos beer (0.5L) is either 2 or 2.50 euros, CVO is not cheap, but i wouldn't say it's over expensive either. Although many bars choose to serve a 'large' beer as 0.4L in CVO and that does annoy me!
As a comparison (and this is me and my wife going out every night to eat and drink) we spent £1200 in Corfu last year over 14 days/nights, in CVO we spent about £1500.

as for going farther afield from CVO centre, obviously you'll find cheaper restaurants but then it could cost you in car hire and petrol, plus designated driver can't drink alcohol, so i suppose it depends what you're after really.

If i compare our 'gem' in Corfu to the 'gem' that is CVO, in the Corfu resort they rely on the Brits mainly (older Brits and couples - no riff raff, by the way so comparable to CVO in my view for type of people visiting); however, CVO doesn't rely solely on Brit tourists, so there's probably little commercial 'need' for CVO bars/restaurants to reduce prices. Whereas in the Corfu resort they did reduce prices for last summer, because of the exchange rate v £ and their reliance on Brit visitors.

anyway, by the summer i'd expect the £/euro rate to be more favourable for the Brits - possibly as 'high' as 1.20 to the £.

[EMM]

Given the mess that Greece is in, additional taxes, strike threats etc it may not be such an attractive holiday destination in 2010.

As semi resident we cannot agree that the costs of supermarkets ( not tourist focused ones ) are expensive our weekly shop is approx 20% less than the UK ( with more wine and beer bought in PT ).

OK we avoid anything with a UK brand and buy cuts of meat that are not so common in the UK.
We even eat Bachalau.
We eat much more fish /shellfish ( much cheaper than the UK ).

Obviously if you are on holiday then you will have neither the time or inclination to spend time shopping and looking for value but you can end up paying for the " convenience " of the in village supermarkets.

I am not betting on the £ it fell again this morning and is struggling to get above E1.14.

[td]

Hi BIG brez

I guess you did touch a raw nerve as I would expect you to factor the Portuguese costs into your holiday budget - before you make the travel arrangements. You appear to have done things the other way round.

In previous posts on this topic, it has been suggested that some local businesses have reduced their prices - but bear in mind that the prices you pay are a factor of the exchange rate and not necessarily profiteering by the business owner. Remember also they have - at best a 6 month season - for the remainder (where they remain open) they still have the overheads. A €20 meal in 2006 and the same meal today at the same price equates to price reduction - before any reduction to the €20. If you paid for utilities and services etc in Portugal - you would understand the exorbitant cost of living here - much like the UK - which for the most part is not negotiable.

There is also a little matter of a recession - where the amount of disposable income available for family holidays is not what it was in the better times. Roughly translated it means the numbers of people coming through the door are not deterred by the cost - they are not there to come through the door - be it in Portugal or elsewhere.

I hope that makes sense.